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Federal Reserve Revenue: Cutsinger’s Solution

By Bryan Cutsinger | Mar 3 2026
Question: The U.S. Federal Reserve differs from most government agencies in two important ways. First, the Federal Reserve determines its own operating budget and remits any remaining revenue to the U.S. Treasury. Second, the Federal Reserve has some control over its revenue, since it earns income from issuing money and holding interest-bearing assets. Issuing more ...

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No Manufacturing Jolt from Tariffs

By Jon Murphy | Dec 16 2025

Writing on Facebook, AEI economist Mark Perry points to evidence that the tariffs imposed in April by the Trump Administration have not resulted in job creation for the manufacturing industry (Mark’s graph is recreated below for those of you who do not have access to Facebook. The solid red line indicates the day the tariffs .. MORE

Featured Comment

Well, couldn't a defender of tariffs (or any policy) always claim that the outcomes would have been even worse without their favourite policy? Ie manufacturing jobs would have bled even harder without tariffs? Of course,..

Matthias, December 17

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Economic Theory

Don’t Reason from a Quantity Change, Either

By Jon Murphy | Mar 5, 2026 | 0

Over winter break, I was back in Massachusetts visiting family for the holidays. The conversation turned toward the difference in cost of living between my home state (Massachusetts) and my adopted state (Louisiana).  The difference is quite stark. According to the World Population Review’s Cost of Living Index, the overall cost of living in Massachusetts .. MORE

Price Theory

Federal Reserve Revenue: Cutsinger’s Solution

By Bryan Cutsinger | Mar 3, 2026 | 3

Question: The U.S. Federal Reserve differs from most government agencies in two important ways. First, the Federal Reserve determines its own operating budget and remits any remaining revenue to the U.S. Treasury. Second, the Federal Reserve has some control over its revenue, since it earns income from issuing money and holding interest-bearing assets. Issuing more .. MORE

Sam's Links

Sam’s Links: February Edition

By Sam Enright | Feb 27, 2026 | 0

Sam Enright works on innovation policy at Progress Ireland, an independent policy think tank in Dublin, and runs a publication called The Fitzwilliam. Most relevant to us, on his personal blog, he writes a popular link roundup; what follows is an abridged version of his Links for January.  Blogs and short links 1. Henry Oliver .. MORE

Tariffs

Trade, Tariffs, and Trust at Econlib

By Econlib Editors | Feb 25, 2026 | 0

We’ve posted the second of two cross-posted articles with Law & Liberty in response to the Supreme Court ruling in Learning Resources v. Trump. Today, David Hebert explains why the economic fallout from the tariffs can’t be reversed by the Court’s ruling. From the article: Just over a year ago, citing the International Emergency Economic .. MORE

Tariffs

The Major Tariffs Question at Econlib

By Econlib Editors | Feb 24, 2026 | 1

This morning we’re hosting the first of two cross-posted articles with Law & Liberty in response to the Supreme Court’s decision in Learning Resources v. Trump. The first, by John O. McGinnis, provides an overview of the legal aspects of the ruling. From the article: The Supreme Court’s decision in Learning Resources v. Trump will have immediate political .. MORE

Labor Mobility, Immigration, Outsourcing

Friedman on Immigration: Setting the Record Straight

By Christopher Freiman | Feb 20, 2026 | 8

Even people who are otherwise enthusiastic about a free market in labor can get cold feet about immigration once redistribution enters the picture. Some are fond of quoting Milton Friedman, who famously (or infamously) said: “It’s just obvious you can’t have free immigration and a welfare state.” On this view, immigration is fine under fully .. MORE

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Tariffs

Trade, Tariffs, and Trust at Econlib 0

We’ve posted the second of two cross-posted articles with Law & Liberty in response to the Supreme Court ruling in Learning Resources v. Trump. Today, David Hebert explains why the economic fallout from the tariffs can’t be reversed by the Court’s ruling. From the article: Just over a year ago, citing the International Emergency Economic .. MORE

Labor Mobility, Immigration, Outsourcing

Friedman on Immigration: Setting the Record Straight 8

Even people who are otherwise enthusiastic about a free market in labor can get cold feet about immigration once redistribution enters the picture. Some are fond of quoting Milton Friedman, who famously (or infamously) said: “It’s just obvious you can’t have free immigration and a welfare state.” On this view, immigration is fine under fully .. MORE

Regulation

Barriers to Affordable Housing 19

A recent post argued that housing affordability is not so bad as it might appear when home prices are adjusted for all relevant factors, such as size, quality, and household income growth. While houses have become more expensive in dollars, they are also significantly bigger and nicer, and the average household has significantly more income. .. MORE

Book Reviews and Suggested Readings

An Interview with Milton Friedman

By Milton Friedman and Russell Roberts

I recently sat down with Milton Friedman, a few days before his 94th birthday, to discuss the impact of two of his most important contributions to economics and liberty: A Monetary History of the United States, 1870-1960 [co-written] with Anna Schwartz, and Capitalism and Freedom. The ideas in both books had tremendous influence on the .. MORE

“A Lecture on Free Trade”

By Thomas Hodgskin

Milton Friedman’s Many Battles

By Arnold Kling

Characteristically, Friedman had a contrarian take on the Washington consensus. Ironically, the turn toward markets gave new life to the classic institutions of the postwar managed economy, namely the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). No longer working to stabilize a gold-backed currency, the two international organizations offered loans to emerging economies—typically conditional .. MORE

An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations

By Adam Smith

Adam Smith’s An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations was first published in 1776. This edition of Smith’s work is based on Edwin Cannan’s careful 1904 compilation (Methuen and Co., Ltd) of Smith’s fifth edition of the book (1789), the final edition in Smith’s lifetime. Cannan’s preface and introductory remarks .. MORE

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